Azaranica is a non-biased news aggregator on Hazaras and Hazarajat...The main aim is to promote understanding and respect for cultural identities by highlighting the realities they are facing on daily basis...Hazaras have been the victim of active persecution and discrimination and one of the reasons among many has been the lack of information, awareness and disinformation...... To further awareness against violence, disinformation and discrimination, we have launched a sister Blog for youths and youths are encouraged to share their stories and opinions; Young Pens

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Mobeen Azhar travels to the Pakistani city of Quetta to investigate how it has become the scene of violent and indiscriminate attacks by Sunni militants against the local ethnic Hazara community. It's a city which has become effectively a no-go area for foreign journalists due to the persistent and intensifying violence. Mobeen tells the story of a single day in January of this year when over 100 people lost their lives in twin bombings in Quetta. Claiming responsibility was the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Mobeen retraces the story of the bombings, and examines the growing security concerns in a district dominated by the Shia Hazara community.

He speaks to Fayyaz Mohammed, a candidate in the forthcoming elections who has links to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and talks with Paul Bhatti, who until recently was the Pakistani Minister of National Harmony. Bhatti blames the government's inability to enforce "effective policy" on Pakistan's long history of military dictatorship. Azhar meets blast survivors and the families of victims, and finds out how the security situation is causing many young Hazaras to leave Quetta to seek a better life elsewhere - despite the dangers of putting their lives in the hands of people smugglers.

Only in ‪#‎Balochistan‬: The leaders of banned terrorist organizations are free to deliver hateful speeches in downtown ‪#‎Quetta‬, and when a local politician dares to tell the truth in protest against a decade-and-half long target killings of his community members, his son gets arrested in less than 24 hours.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

QUETTA: Unknown assailants killed five people belonging to the Hazara community in Quetta's Bacha Khan Chowk area on Sunday evening, Dawn.com reported.

Police sources said suspected militants opened fire at two shops near Bacha Khan Chowk, the city's commercial hub.

Police stated the deceased belonged to the Hazara community. Four people had died on the spot while there was one injured who was rushed to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Quetta for medical treatment. However, he later succumbed to his injuries.

Police said the assailants managed to escape from the scene. It was an act of targeted killing, police sources told Dawn.com.

Soon after the incident, markets and business establishments were closed and panic gripped the area. Traffic vanished from the roads.

Police officials gather outside the store where two Hazara men were gunned down on Wednesday. PHOTO: PPI

QUETTA: Days after armed men gunned down three members of the Hazara community, two more Hazaras were shot dead near Meezan Chowk on Wednesday.

City SHO Chudhry Aslam told The Express Tribune that unknown armed assailants opened fire at people sitting outside a cloth merchant’s store on Meconogey road near Meezan Chowk . The attack left two people dead and another injured.

Following the incident, Frontier Corps and police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.

The dead were taken to civil hospital for autopsy while the injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital for treatment.

The deceased were identified as Arif Ali and Haji Hussain, while the injured man was identified as Mohammad Essa. All three belonged to the Hazara Community.

CCPO Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema said the people should cooperate with FC and police and provide information about suspects in their areas. A case against unknown assailants was also registered. Cheema urged merchants to reopen their shops.

In the last four days at least six people have been killed and 10 others have been injures in a fresh wave of sectarian attacks in Quetta. However, no group had claimed the responsibility for Wednesday’s attack till the filing of this report.

A case has been registered against the unknown persons and investigations are underway.

Three months policing extension given to FC

Meanwhile, the Balochistan chief minister on Wednesday granted a three month extension to FC’s police mandate.

FC had been given police powers for three months in 2012, but it has since been continuously extended in a bid to tackle targeted killings and militancy in the region.

A summary for the latest extension was moved by Home Secretary which was subsequently approved by the Chief Minister.

Per the extension, FC will continue to exercise police powers until August 27, 2015. FC can thus conduct raids, investigate crimes and make arrests.

Yesterday, the banned terrorist organization AHWJ also known as LeJ, who have taken responsibility of killing thousands of Hazaras/Shias in Quetta, Pakistan in last one and half decades tweeted and boasted their meeting with security officials. It is believed that the terrorist organization enjoys security forces support and are used to create ethno-sectarian tension in Balochistan. It is noteworthy that for last one and half decades, not a single member of terrorists organizations are brought to book and thousands of families still waiting for justice. Despite being a banned organization, the terrorist organization runs madrasahs, mosques, and rallies.

TODAY, Hazara traders were targeted in downtown Quetta and Hazara patients were targeted in hospital.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

QUETTA: A man was killed and seven others injured in two separate incidents on Tuesday as unknown gunmen opened fire.

Two motorcyclists opened fire on Kasi Road, leaving six people injured one of them succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital.

Relatives of the deceased gathered at the Baacha Khan Road and burned tyres to lodge their protest. During the protest, unknown gunmen once again opened fire, leaving two more people injured.

The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Business activities came to a grinding halt as panic gripped the area following the armed attack. Police say they are investigating the matter.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Relatives grieve the deaths of the three men killed by motorcyclists on Monday. PHOTO AFP

QUETTA: Three people belonging to the Hazara community were shot dead on Monday near the Mekran bus stop in Quetta’s Sattelite Town.

Unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at the three men outside the bus stop, Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Qyoume told The Express Tribune. Two of them were killed on the spot, while another was seriously injured.

The deceased and injured were taken to Civil Hospital Quetta, where the injured individual was pronounced dead.

The deceased were identified as Mirza Hussain, Asadullah and Mohammad Ali. They were waiting to buy a ticket fer Mekran when they were attacked, the SHO added.

Frontier Corps personnel and police arrived at the scene and investigation into the incident is currently underway.

Hazaras are often the target of sectarian violence at the hands of extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a recent attack, masked gunmen abducted 30 Shia men who were travelling by bus through central Afghanistan.